The Cute Beast

Martinez Ryan?!

Before a year back, no one who had ever set an eye on him would believe he could step on a cockroach.

If you caught him and shook him up and commanded him to kill a mosquito, he would tremble before you. The tears would rise in his eyes' once and before he could lift a hand towards the mosquito's direction, the wind would have warned it already, and it would have buzzed off in an instant.

For Ryan was a guy who seemed afraid of even his own shadow. Before the past year, there he was, nearly thirty, yet, he was not the vigorous-spirited guy people expected him to be; dashing in and out of his father's wealth and getting into people's way.

He was not a fighter, he did not climb trees, he did not fly kites, he was not the type that would catch crabs all day Saturday and Sunday, and come home panting home at night, all damp and dirty, ready to gobble up his food.

Rather, he was the little mouse in the corner, always lost in the crowd.

He was the same guy whose faint trembling voice was always drowned among the shrill chatter of other voices.

The cute guy from one year back was the one with an elegant, mournful, brooding face; afraid to lift his eyes up to meet other faces.

Worst of all, back then, Ryan was one of those rich guys whose every feature you felt to be wrong.

He was tall and his cuteness was overloaded. And overloaded cuteness was not a bad thing in those days and age.

But a guy can be too gorgeous, and especially when he was already packing his loads to thirty, but still has a perfect handsome face and lovely soft skin like that of an eighteen-year-old guy, winning a gold medal for how great he looked.

But no one knew the kind and how powerful the spirit that changed Ryan into a two-faced human was; after he fought and won against his brother over the inheritance.

For the first three to four months, his staff endured. Thinking that he was like that since he was going through a lot.

But as it was increasing day by day instead of decreasing, they couldn't hold it anymore or convince themselves to think positively about him.

The staff began gossiping and backbiting; both in the office, while walking in unison before and after work. Even when a staff member pays another staff member a visit at the weekend.

"I hate him!" Some staff can't do a day without shouting with outrage. Grinning their teeth with anger; remembering what he was making them go through.

"He is a devil!" That's the most common adjective they use for him.

"He didn't deserve to be the CEO. He is heartless!" Some concluded. Wishing they had the right to remove him instantly or vote against him.

"He is the son of a bitch!"

"I wonder why he is like that, because his father earned the highest rank of people with a good heart when he was alive." Some staff wondered; remembering how kind his father was towards them and many.

"But wait, maybe something is wrong with him. Because he is not like this before." Some staff members, especially Kate, tried to give his bad attitude a second thought.

But once Anna, the goddess of gossipers; the lady with the heart of backbiting, came in, she declared.

"Stop being childish, we are grown up already," Anna would first caution with a low, responsible voice.

"You ask why he was like this when his father was someone with a kind heart?" She would throw a question, facing Kate. Positioning her left hand on the table, using the left to cage her waist.

"He will be like that because he is a bastard." Anna hated beating around the bush; she went straight to the point.

" Anna, stop it already!" Kate used to caution. But Anna first gave her a deadly look as expected, then snickered, hissed and further.

"Why should I stop, you think I am lying?" She indirectly shut Kate up and drew others' attention, making them develop an interest in her gossip.

"Okay, think about this. Why do you think he went to an unknown hospital for treatment or check-up?"

"Why did he hide his health status from his secretary?"

"Don't you see how he shouted at Ms. Kim; his former secretary, for trying to check his medical report? Which we all know is part of her duty,"

"Hmmmmm." All the present staff members sounded in unison, to where Anna was driving to.

"Look here, I am sure he is not on the good side of his brother because that poor Ryan smelled something fishy about him,"

"Also, you all don't know he was just pretending to be a good guy in the past years mainly to gain pity. Or didn't he?"

"Hmm, hmmm, he truly gets it." The apprentice gossipers under Anna reasoned along.

"But why is he still a two-faced human?" They wondered.

But Anna had never been able to answer that, and ended up saying, "it's time to work, let's leave his problem before he arrives and roars at us."

Every staff member will go to their seat and start the needful before the cute beast arrives.

Ryan's great appearance alone was good enough to demolish a happy relationship, because seeing his pictures on the Internet drove some ladies crazy; that without knowing it while they were in their fiance's arms, they would let go of their hands, screaming, "I love him most!"

Because of Martinez Ryan, countless relationships scattered. Either the guy complained that his lady didn't give him the attention he deserved. Instead, she focused everything on Ryan's picture, not even the real him. Or the lady comparing her man to him.

After looking at Ryan's picture all day, some ladies ended up hissing and splatting on their fiances, giving excuses.

"Something must be wrong with me to accept dating you where Ryan is." Some ladies mostly used this line as a farewell line to their fiances.

"He is not even handsome like him!" That's what most of the ladies used as an excuse. When they were asked why they left their fiances, they tried to make things, but didn't go back to them.

"Why do you lack beauty unlike him?" Some choose to blame nature.

"Just why are you not fashionable like him? Hmm?!"

"Why are you not rich like him?! Tell me!" Some ranted out of greediness.

"A man like you doesn't deserve me; guys like him do!" Some ladies hoped high.

"You know what? You are free and can come back to me once you share every single feature like him, even though I know it is impossible, even in the hereafter." Countless ladies concluded, falling into the trap of Ryan's features.

Posting a picture of Ryan combing his hair made some ladies wish they were the comb.

Some ladies, every day, desire to be his clothes or body lotion.

Some even didn't mind being his undies, pants, spoon he used to eat, or anything worse. As long as it would make them in Ryan's arms or anywhere close to him.

"He is tall, so handsome!"

"His hair is so beautiful, so are his eyes!"

"He is mine!"

"You wish?!"

"Yes, I wish I could work for him. I will work all day in his kitchen and all night in his bedroom, satisfying him everywhere, anywhere and anyhow he wants."

"Stop hoping too high, he is not for people like you. That's not even near being possible."

"I shouldn't hope too high?!"

"It's not near being possible?!"

"Why did you say that?! What did you see?"

"He is mine and mine only, and I am not ready to share him with anybody!"

"Stop kidding me. Your jokes are getting too much."

"Do I look like I am joking at you? I am not joking. I mean. Stay away from my Ryan or else..."

"Or else what?! What will you do to me?! What right do you have that I don't?!"

"You can do nothing to me!"

"Are you daring me?!"

"No, I am not. I am threatening like you are doing to me."

"I hate you!"

"And who told you I liked you?! I hate you too!"

"It's not even your fault, I am the one that stoops so low to your level."

"Likewise, it's not your fault too, I am the one to be blamed for thinking you deserve to be my friend!"

"I cut the tie between us!"

"Who told you there was a tie between us? We are not friends but enemies."

"I don't want to see you again!"

"I never wanted to from the beginning, you are the one always running after me!"

"Go to hell!"

"Go away, you look disgusting! You get nothing to even make yourself attractive to Ryan!" Anastasia and Irina ended their long-built relationship out of willingness to have Ryan.

"What's even special about this Ryan?!" The ladies' parents always wondered.